Arunachal MP writes to PM, appeals for probe of fraud chit funds in North East

Arunachal MP writes to PM, appeals for probe of fraud chit funds in North East

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Last Updated: Fri, Apr 26, 2013 08:20 hrs

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Member of Parliament from the state of Arunachal Pradesh Takam Sanjoy has appealed to him to order a probe into the fraudulent activities of hundreds of so-called financial institutions operating across the entire North East region.

Sanjoy claimed that these fake institutions were fraudulently collecting huge chunks of money from the poor people of the area, particularly from those who live in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

"This serious and heavy misappropriation of funds is in addition to the chit fund scam that was operated by the Saradha Group in West Bengal, which has been exposed now," he said.

Sanjoy further informed the Prime Minister that he has been writing to and interacting with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on this menace since April last year, and has urged the latter to take appropriate investigative action against these fake companies.

He particularly mentioned one company-M/s Jeevan Suraksha Group, which he claimed has a regional office on Collage Road, Lumding in Nagaon District, Assam.

Sanjoy claimed that in his interactions with local people and tribals in Arunachal Pradesh, he has come to know that the above company has misappropriated Rs. 20 crores on the pretext of running different businesses, besides finalising " fraudulent" deals in product booking, insurance policies and real estate investments.

"All of these companies have operated from Assam with the singular objective of cheating the poor and tribals of the North East for decades. A large number of these companies are either fake or working without adhering to norms set down by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)," Sanjoy claimed in his letter to Prime Minister Singh.

"I met a number of these affected depositors in December last year, and have requested the Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, to order an investigation into this illegal inflow of public money and their subsequent investment in fake companies that operate from his state," he added.

The Arunachal MP said that news of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs taking note of this misuse by these so called chit fund companies, and deciding to set up a Special Task Force in the Serious Fraud Investigations Office (SFIO) to investigate these firms for misuse and money laundering, is a welcome development and in f the larger interest of the public.

He said the purpose of him writing the letter was to emphasize again the gravity of the menace and the need to act promptly against them. (ANI)